Not Your Parents’ Top 10 Shredders List

Tired of those old fogies always telling you how great rock and metal was back in the day? You know there’s plenty of phenomenal guitarists that have blazed their way across the 21st century, so let Loudwire's new Gear Factor series celebrate them in this “Not Your Parents’” Top 10 Shredders List. This video, which we created with Gear Factor host Squiggy, shows some of today's fastest six-stringers.

Is Kirk Hammett a technical guitarist? Well yeah, but imagine showing your parents how Tosin Abasi handles an Ibanez. The Animals as Leaders djentleman brought metal guitar to one of its most technical stages. His tapping is warmer than the smoothest legato, his compositional skills are masterful and he’s managed to attract a legion of young metal fans to strictly instrumental music.

Who has composed more killer metal in the 21st century than Mastodon? With seven critically praised records released since 2002, Brent Hinds has injected some ridiculous styles of guitar playing into the metal genre. Nobody would have thought the banjo would have any use in our world, but the intro to “Divinations” speaks for itself. Even with Mastodon’s latest full-length, Emperor of Sand, Hinds’ farfetched writing shines brilliantly on “Jaguar God,” which has become a favorite amongst Mastodonians.

Few have done more for metal guitar in the last 20 years than Children of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho. With Laiho bringing the neoclassical style back into the extreme realm, albums like Hatebreeder, Follow the Reaper and Hate Crew Deathroll are modern classics. How many signature Laiho ESPs have you seen in the hands of local musicians? That alone points to how influential Bodom and Alexi have been.

Check out this Not Your Parents’ Top 10 Shredders List in the clip above.